Movie

Shogun Assassin

1980 · 85 min

A relentless, blood-soaked samurai revenge saga with a stoic father and a toddler sidekick, blending brutal swordplay with a strange, almost dreamlike tone.

Tagline: He whips out his sword and relieves his victims of their heads!!
Overview: A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

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How it feels

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Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
campystrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: revenge
violence
parenthood
survival
loyalty
Places: countryside
road trip
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
serialised
Content intensity: Gore strong
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	9
Horror	5
Humour	3
Realism	3
Romance	0
Tension	7
Darkness	8
Complexity	4
Emotional weight	6

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: action, adventure
Directed by: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston
Written by: Robert Houston, David Weisman, Kazuo Koike
Starring: Tomisaburō Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ōki, Shin Kishida, Shogen Nitta, Reiko Kasahara, Akiji Kobayashi
Music: Hideaki Sakurai, Kunihiko Murai
Runtime: 85 min
Country: Japan, United States of America
Languages: English, Japanese

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Shogun Assassin

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